Solstice Court (CTL)

Solstice Court
Emotion	Desperation

The Solstice Court is an entitlement in Changeling: The Lost. Members aspire to one day equal the power and prestige of the Seasonal Courts, something the Seasonal Courts are not particularly keen on.

Background

“

I pledge myself to the between, and to the wisdom and strength that hides therein.

”

Formed of “Betweeners” who revere the transitions, this entitlement is a breeding ground for political activists, idealists, those experimenting with the power of between times and half-places. Due to the friction between the Solstice Court and more conventional Courts, less-than-savory rumors about the Solstice abound, the most serious being that it is a front for Loyalists seeking to undermine entire freeholds and return them to the Gentry. In other freeholds, Betweeners have worked to enforce the seasonal transfer of power, though the whispers of assassinations are probably exaggerated. Such rumors, and the disapproval of the Seasonal Courts, have not stopped the Solstice Court from actively recruiting, and many hold out hope that they will be able to achieve true Great Court status.

Origins

Some claim an ancient origin for it, while others ascribe its foundation to the 1960s counterculture or an English Wizened named Sooty John. Whatever the truth, the "Betweeners" see themselves as a balancing force against the hegemony of the Seasonal Courts, and recognize the sacred nature of transitions--the crossroads, the witching hour, and of course, the days of equinox and solstice when one season gives way to the next.

Organization

The Solstice Court is a grassroots movement and, though they have grown a great deal of late, their tiny numbers tend to obviate the need for much internal structure. Courtiers may be found in ones or twos; when more gather, the eldest and most experienced tends to take the place of a monarch, relegating other roles to his or her lessers.

Joining and Membership

Prerequisites: Wyrd 3, Courtless (no Mantle dots)
Title: Solstice Courtier, Betweener (often derogatory)
The Court will readily take in all comers. The greatest barriers to entry tend to be the Wyrd requirement and the entitlement’s relative rarity. Those who join tend to follow one of a couple basic trends: those who do not feel called to any one season, and those who seek to be part of something meaningful. The former often are those with whom the political or philosophical basis of the Solstice resonates, while the latter are creative, talented, and/or ambitious minds.

Mien

The dress of courtiers is often neutral in hue (silver grey, beige, navy and the like), with symbols relating to times and places of transition (dawn, dusk, crossroads, clock hands) being common. The seeming often tends to shift such that a changeling will straddle some sort of line (e.g. a Beast bearing the mark of two animals). The mien might also manifest subtle changes, such as faint markings upon the skin indicative of all four seasons. Others are marked by images of celestial bodies closely associated with the annual periods of transition. Still others find that hair and eyes take on the sheen of smoky silver. High-Wyrd Lost project a generally neutral atmosphere and temperature in their vicinity; those closest to them often feel neither hot nor cold, save in the most extreme environments.

Privileges

• Feast of Scraps: The Solstice Court has not achieved a true contract with its time in the same fashion as the Seasonal Courts, though stories abound of changelings who have tried to forge such a contract and failed. Still, members of the Solstice Court are able to count Desperation, the amalgam of other Courts’ emotions, as their native passion, despite technically being Courtless. Courtiers may use this passion to harvest Glamour and, with a strong enough Wyrd rating, induce Bedlam.

Gallery

Solstice Courtier

References

• CTL: Lords of Summer, p. 117-120